Feank mcolintock



K. C 0 T N I L G nU M L .Wn d o M o W WIND ENGINE.

No. 256,234. 'Paaentef1`Apr.11,1882.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.`

FRANK MCOLIN'IOCK, OF VEST UNION, IOWA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO WM. MOOLINTOOK, .OF SAME PLAGE. y

WIND-ENGINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 256,234, dated April 11, 1882.

- Application Elea July 9, i881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Y Be it kllown that I, FRANK MGOLINTOOK, of W'est Union, Iowa, have invented a new and useful VVind-Engine, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of windengines known as horizontal577 and it consists in the manner of feathering the sails by revolving them on their axes, whereby the power Io ofthe engille is greatly increased, as the sails are in a position to do effective work during that half of the revolution that they are advancing toward the wind as well as while moving away from it; andin providing a sensitive,

I 5 effective, and reliable governor or regulator, which will maintain a regular motion of the engine in variable willds and under different resistances offered by the work, with a simple method of stopping or starting the engine at zo will; also, in the mannerofprotectingthe working parts from the weather, so that sllow and sleet will not clog it up. I attain these objects by means of the mechanism illust-rated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a side view of the engine, showing two arms and sails with the regulatinggearing; and Fig. 2, a top or plan view, showing the construction of the frame-work and the relation of the sails to each other and the 3o vane, everything relating to the regulatinggearing being omitted to prevent confusion.

Similar letters and tigures refer to similar parts in both views.

The main shaft A, which revolves in jonrrial-boxes bolted to the tower, (onlythe upper one, B, being shown,) has a casting, G, firmly n keyed on its Aupper end, which forms the hub or center of the frame-work. The upper part of this casting is hollow, as shown in Fig. 1,

4o in which one side is cut away to sllow the interior. The arms D', D2, E, F, and G, which I prefer to make of iron tubing, are attached to the sides of this box in pairs. At the outer extremity of each pair ofarms are attached boxes H, which have journal-boxes a, in which revolve the shafts I, carrying the sails J' J2. Pieces of tubing K', K2, K2, and K4 extend diagonally from box to box around the frame all d screw'into the sides of the boxes by right and left hand threads, so that they serve to thor- 5o ou ghly bind together and strengthen the framework. A piece of tubing, V, is attached to the cover ot' the box O, alld firmly secured in a vei'- tical position by stay-rods L, extending from the top of it diagonally downward to the arms. A shaft, M, with a vane, N, keyed to its upper end, passes through the tubing V, being fitted to journal-boxes at the top and bottom of it.

A pinion, O, having teeth adapted to use with adrive-chain, is keyed to the lower end of this 6o vane-shaft and inclosed in the box C.

The sail-shaftslare simplypieces of wroughtiron pipe or tubing turlled smooth where they v lit into the journal-boxes a, and fitted with collars b, which prevent the shafts from sliding 65 up or down. The sails are attached to the shafts I ill sections, each sections J' J2 being hinged to a cross-horizontal arm, so that it can be revolved on its axis from a vertical to a horizontal position. The sails are placed half 7o on each side of the sail-shafts, so that the pressure of the wind is equalized and has no tendency to revolve the sail in' either direction. Pinions R', R2, R3, and R4, adapted to work with the same drive-chain as the pinion O, but each having double the number of teeth, are keyed tirmly to the said shafts I. On one of the shafts there is also another pinion, R5, of

the same size, but litting loosely to. the shaft. A'drive-ohain, S, passes, as shown by the dot- So ted lines, from the center pinion, O, through the pipe D', around pinion R5, then, passing through pipe K', around pinion R2, and so on around the engine, returlls to the pinion It' and through the pipe D2 to the center pinion. 85 The boxes H have tightly-li'tting covers l, (the one on arms D' D2 being removed in the drawings,) so that the pinions and drive-chain are thus entirely protected from the weather. The plane ofthe sails is so arranged with reference 9o to the direction of the vane that when arms D', D2, and F are at right angles and arms E and G parallel with the vane, the sail on arm D' D2 lnakes an angle of llinety degrees, those on arlnsE alld Gr angles of forty-live degrees in opposite directions, while that on F is parallel with the vane, and therefore with the direction from which the wind is blowing, as shown in Fig. 2. The wind striking the sails will thus have a tendencyto turn the entire engine on the main shaft A, as the three sails which offer any surface to its action on arms D D?, E, and G are each in a position to utilize its force.. The action of the wind on the vane N 'prevents the pinion O from revolving with the engine, and, in combination with the pinions R', R2, R3, and It, and drive-chain S, causes the sail-shafts to revolve in the same direction as the engine,butmaking only one-half a revolution with each revolution of the engine. The effect of this is to increase regularly the angle which the sail makes with the winds direction from zero when in the position of arm F to ninety degrees during a half-revolution ofthe engine, and decrease itin the same manner during the remainder of the revolution back to the position of arm F. The dotted lines show the angles made by the sails at intermediate points. It will be seen from this that each sail is capable of utilizing the force of the wind in turning the engine during the entire revolution, except at the one point when it is parallel with the direction of the wind. (Shown on arm F, Fig. 2.) I have represented an engine with four arms and sails; but the same construction can be applied to a greater or less number.

The sails are each divided into sections J J2, which, as before stated, are attached or hinged, so as to be movable from their normal vertical position to a horizontal position, when they will oft'er no surface to the action of the wind, and the engine will remain still in the highest winds. I prefer to construct these sections ot' sheet-iron; but wood or cloth attached to an iron frame may be used with equal facility; and I would attach each half of the section at its center to a small piece of tubing, o, which slips upon round cross pieces or arms on the sail-shafts, fitting loosely enough to turn easily. The two halves of the sections, after being placed in position on the crossarms, one on each side of the sail-shafts, are securely joined together by the trip-levers d, and also by riveting them together above and below the ends of the Sailshatts. The sections ot' each sail are connected, so as to turn together, by slide-rods gpassing through the sailshatts, each trip-lever d being connected to said sliderods by links f. The slide-rods are attached so that their weight acts to hold the sections in avertical position, as shown in Fig. l. Theie should be an even number ot' these sections to each sail, and the trip-levers are placed on opposite sides ofthe sections alternately, so that when they are partially turned to ahorizontal position the action of the wind on half of the sections will be neutralized by levers h to reach them. The inner ends of the levers l1l are slotted to fit on a ring, I, which slides easily up or down on the lower part ot' the casting or hub C, being kept from tilting by the small guide-ro(lsm,wliich pass through slot-s in the journal-box B, and having their lower ends bolted to a sliding collar, n, which slides upon the main shat't A. Anydownward movement of the collar n, guide-rods m, and ring Z thus throws all the sections simultaneously from a vertical toward a horizontal position. Ashut-oi' rod, i", extending to the foot of the tower, can be attached directly to the collar n, or, as shown in Fig. 1, to a lever which is attached to the collar.

For the purpose of governing the motion of the engine so as to secure nearly thesame speed in variable winds and when doing workwhich offers a variable resistance, a centrifugal governor is arranged to throw the sections toward a horizontal position, thus reducing the area of sail without altering the angle which the sail asawhole presents to the wind. This governor can be applied in did'erent ways, perhaps the best for small engines being that shown in Fig. l, which consists simply of horizontal sliding rods t, with weights w attached near their outer extremities, and attached at their inner ends to the vertical arin of elbows c, the horizontal arms being attached to the levers h. The elbows are bolted or pivoted to projections from the hub C. Thus the centrifugal force developed in the weights w by the revolution of the engine is applied through elbows fv, levers ha, slide-rods g, linksf, and triplevers d to reducing the area of sail carried, any increase of the speed ofthe eiigine being attended with a proportionate decrease of sailsurface, and by properly proportioning the parts the engine will preserve a regular and steady motion at any speed desired within certain limits. An independent or detached governor can be applied simiiar in principle to the steam-engine governor, only its action will be upon the shut-oft' lever s instead ot' upon a throttle-valve.

I am aware that prior to my invention horizontal wind-engines were patented in which the sails were made to revolve on their vertical axes with one-half the velocity of the en. gine by means of toothed wheels and chains. Therefore I do not broadly claim that principle; but

What I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. In a horizontal wind-engine, the combination, with sails attached to vertical sailshafts which revolve with one-halt` the velocity of the engine, of a frame consisting of a central box or hub and horizontal arms with boxes on their outer extremities having bear- IOO IIO

2o revolve at the rate of' one-half arevolution for ings in which the sail-shafts revolve, the boxes being joined by diagonal tie rods or tubes, and 'with the arms securely trussed by means of diagonal rods extending to the upper vend of a vertical tube risingjrom the center, in which the vane-shaft revolves, substantially as shown and described.-

2. A horizontal wind-en gine with sails hinged in sections to horizontal cross-pieces on vertical sail-shafts which revolve in boxes attached tohorizontal arms, said sail-shafts being geared so as to make one-half of a revolution for each revolution of the engine, in combination with trip-levers d, links f, slide-rods g, sliding eol-4 lars i, levers h, sliding collars l and n, guiderods m, and a centrifugal governor, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

3. In ahorizontal Wind-engine, the combination, with sails attached to Vertical shafts which 4. 1n a horizontal wind-engine, the combination, with sails attached to vertical shafts which are geared to make one-halt' of a revolution for each revolution ot' the engine, of sails attached or hinged to sail-shafts in sections, half of the area of the sail above and half below the plane ot said horizontal arms, and the sections am ranged to turn on their horizontal axes in alternately opposite directions, substantiallyas and for the purpose specified.

FRANK MCGLINTOCK. Witnesses:

J. D. NEFF, H. M. NEFF. 

